Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future pope and archbishop in Munich at the time, was copied on a memo that informed him that a priest, whom he had approved sending to therapy in 1980 to overcome pedophilia, would be returned to pastoral work within days of beginning psychiatric treatment. The priest was later convicted of molesting boys in another parish. -- NYTimes Mar 26, 2010

SNAP President Barbara Blaine, SNAP Midwest director Peter Isely and 2 others were detained in Rome by police during a news conference in front of the Vatican today. Similar conferences were scheduled for several other cities for today.

"We've spent more time in the police station than Father Murphy did in his life," said Isely, Milwaukee-based midwest director of SNAP after his release.

Isley was referring to the American priest Lawrence Murphy -- whom the Vatican refused to defrock in spite of his being accused of molesting some 200 deaf boys in Wisconsin. The Vatican has strongly defended its position on the Murphy affair, prompting the SNAP demonstration.

According to a new New York Times story, a US pedophile priest reportedly abused between 150-200 deaf kids at a school over 24 years, often during confessions. Yet for years, a small Vatican bureaucracy headed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now the Pope) fought three US bishops’ efforts to oust the predator, citing a fear of scandal.

SNAP Outreach director Barbara Dorris issued a statement for the survivors' advocacy group today commenting on the resignation of Irish bishop John Magee accused of covering up sexual abuse by priests.

"We hope that Magee's resignation will provide some relief and consolation for the thousands of deeply wounded abuse victims and hundreds of thousands of betrayed parishioners in Ireland," said Dorris in a statement issued today. "By itself, however, this resignation doesn't signify any fundamental change in the corrupt church hierarchy or hurtful church practices regarding predator priests, nuns, seminarians, bishops, brothers or other employees."

We hope this move will help those in pain realize that there is hope and that their suffering is validated. At the same time, we hope this move will not in any way diminish the pressure for more substantive, long-term reforms that are needed to protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded in the church. -- Barbara Dorris

We must keep in mind two facts. First, these numbers come from most of the same bishops who concealed and enabled clergy child sex crimes for decades. They are inherently suspect, to say the least.

Second, very few child victims are able to disclose the crimes as they happen, so there always has been and will be decades between the actual offense and the reporting of it.

"We’re saddened, but not surprised that church officials still spend twice as much on predators as victims ($11 million vs. $6.5 million) and more than four times as much on their lawyers as on victims ($28 million vs. $6.5 million)." -- David Clohessy

Given these facts, there are two options. We can either be reckless, assuming that clergy sex crimes are somehow magically being reduced, or we can be prudent, assuming that clergy sex crimes are essentially happening at the same rate, or a higher rate, than before.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Catholic Church is being unfairly singled out for criticism of sexual abuse of children by priests and will not tolerate campaigns to discredit it, the powerful head of Italy's bishops said on Monday. ...

SNAP's David Clohessy Responds:

Catholic officials are the culprits here, not the victims. To suggest that hundreds of deeply wounded European men and women are somehow conspiring with unethical journalists hurts the very individuals the Pope says he cares about and who are acting responsibly.

Barbara Blaine and Barbara Dorris of SNAP, are in Munich for the day before heading to Vienna and Berlin. They placed several dozen photographs of children abused by priests at the front gate of the office of Archbishop Reinhard Marx, who heads the archdiocese of Munich and Freising.

“No institution can effectively police or reform itself, especially not an ancient, rigid, secretive, all-male monarchy like the Catholic hierarchy with its deeply-rooted and long-standing practice of concealing clergy sex crimes,” said Blaine, SNAP’s founder and president, in a press release yesterday.

“So it’s crucial that secular authorities promptly begin thorough investigations into the church’s on-going scandal, so that the truth can be revealed, the wrong-doers disciplined, the victims healed and the vulnerable protected.”

Two US women who head the world’s largest & most highly visible support group for clergy sex abuse victims are going to Europe today to offer help to adults who were sexually assaulted by Catholic priests, nuns, seminarians, brothers and bishops.

Two US men who were molested as kids by priests are leaving for Europe soon.

All four are leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org). The women are flying to Munich Germany today to start a chapter of their self-help organization in that country and hold a news conference Monday at 2:00 p.m. They will also visit at least two or three countries on the continent.

In an article dated March 12, 2010 on the National Catholic Reporter Website, survivor advocate and Dominican canon lawyer Thomas Doyle says of the priest sex abuse scandal sweeping the globe:

"The crisis has made it very clear that the system we have had for centuries is incapable of leading the body of Christ to be a church. All it was capable of doing was defending itself."

The article goes on to say:

"Doyle wouldn’t speculate on whether the spreading scandal would bring any substantial change, but he believes that the bishops have engaged in 'denial and blame-shifting' since the earliest days of the scandal and that now 'we’re seeing the unraveling of a Teflon cover that kept this under wraps. The cover is rapidly unraveling now and what is obvious is that there is a broad and deep layer of corruption in the institution.'"

The Pope Saturday issued a letter to the church in Ireland, acknowledging failures of Irish clerics in handling priest sex abuse cases.

But in Ratzinger's own fatherland there were expressions of disappointment that the letter made no reference to the German sex abuse issues, which have riveted media attention since January.

“Pope says nothing about German abuse cases,” the popular Bild daily headlined on its Web site. “Pope silent on abuse in Germany,” the weekly Der Spiegel's Web site headline read.

In an entry this morning on NCR Today Thomas C. Fox, on assignment in Munich during the crisis, reports that Germans are particularly discouraged and even insulted by the lack of leadership in this crisis coming from Rome.

“I found it outrageous that none of the events in Germany got any mention in the letter,” said Brigitte Beierlein, a 63-year-old teacher. “For me the time has come to take personal responsibility and quit the church. I am going to finish my membership, even though I will leave with regrets.”

The NCR report goes on to mention the infamous "secret letter" Ratzinger sent to bishops worldwide in 2001:

"For some German Catholic church observers, the papal letter (to Ireland) offered a test of whether the Vatican can stem a widening crisis that has shaken the authority of the church and has challenged the Vatican to end a secretive culture.

"While a cardinal at the Vatican, Ratzinger wrote a 2001 letter instructing bishops worldwide to report all cases of abuse to his office and keep church investigations secret under threat of excommunication."Read the entire report on the NCR Today news blog.

Pope Benedict once again failed to acknowledge the systemic failures that have led to cover-ups and official silence, and once again failed to hold accountable the bishops who allowed institutional secrecy to override pastoral needs. -- VOTF Website March 22, 2010.

The US Roman Catholic group, Voice of the Faithful -- which has made many Catholic voices heard in response to the US clergy sexual abuse revelations -- is not being reticent in calling for the voice of the papacy to finally acknowledge its own, and the worldwide Roman hierarchy's role in protecting priest abusers and not victims of clerical sex abuse.

On the VOTF's website today, the group says, "(A)gainst a backdrop of growing revelations in Germany, The Netherlands and other European countries -- not to mention the roster of clergy sex-abuse revelations across the globe and stretching decades into the past -- Pope Benedict once again failed to acknowledge the systemic failures that have led to cover-ups and official silence."

VOTF is the voice of the Roman Catholic faithful, and SNAP and others are voices for the victims and survivors of this horrendous and diabolical scandal. But where is the voice of the perpetrators of cover-up, subterfuge and diversion? Where is the voice of the papacy in all this -- the voice of genuine leadership that accepts responsibility rather than pointing fingers of blame at subordinates?

Statement by Barbara DorrisBarbara Dorris is SNAP's National Outreach DirectorSaturday, March 20, 2010

The most powerful religious figure on the planet speaks of "decisive action." But he refuses to take any.

In just one nation, tens of thousands of children have been sexually assaulted by trusted priests. Bishops concealed the crimes, sometimes for decades. But the Pope responds by promising to send a few of his staff there to visit some places and ask some questions.

While millions are in pain, the Pope can barely bring himself to admit that some bishops in one nation have made some unspecified "errors in judgment."

Here's the Vatican's essential message: Apparently not one wrongdoer will even get a papal 'slap on the hand.' Not one more predator will apparently be ousted. Not one more horrific secret cover up will apparently ever see the light of day. And not one victim will apparently see any tangible help whatsoever.

David Clohessy is the national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

Lord Acton’s observation that “absolute power corrupts absolutely” is the sad and simple lesson from the Catholic abuse and cover-up scandal now spreading across Europe.

Information about the crisis comes from three sources: church officials, researchers and experts, or from secular agencies with subpoena power (like grand juries in the U.S .and the government reports in Ireland). Only truly independent third party investigations are credible in these cases. And virtually every one of these investigations finds that church officials ignore or conceal horrific child sex crimes for one reason: because they can.

Law enforcement officials are at a disadvantage in holding corrupt bishops accountable. Why? Because the public generally defers to clerics. Read the full NYTimes article ...

"Call To Action joins SNAP, the Survivor's Network of those Abused by Priests, in calling on European governments to initiate investigations into the allegations in order to uncover the abuse that has remained hushed for decades and may have been known by the highest level of officials in the Roman Catholic Church." -- From the Call to Action Website.

We currently meet the 3rd Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. - noon, near downtown Dallas. Meeting dates are below. Please contact us at snaperin@snapnetwork.org or 469-387-9434 for the meeting location.

Remember, SNAP meetings are a safe place for survivors. You are not required to share, listening can be healing too.

February 15

March 15

April 19

May 17

June 21

July - No Meeting

August 16

September 20

October 18

November 15

December 13 (2nd Saturday) - Christmas Party

SNAP Mission

SELF HELP:

By sharing our stories, we recognize that we are not alone, and we are not guilty for what happened to us. Gradually coming to a full knowledge of this empowers us to confront the truth, and to find healthy mechanisms for healing.

EDUCATION:

We work together to educate ourselves and our communities about the effects of the abuse.

PREVENTION:

Once we learn the truth about what has happened to us, we can then use that power to bring about change. When we put our voices together, we become so strong that we can no longer not be heard.